Give your weekend an old-school makeover

By admin

31 January 2014

Sign out of Facebook, shut down your computer and have some good old retro fun this weekend; it’s the latest craze among the hip set!

KNITTED ICONS

It’s official: your grandma’s fave hobby is the next big thing. Dakota Fanning says she loves to knit scarves for her co-stars while killing time on movie sets. But if tea cosies and beanies aren’t your thing, try a knitted version of your favourite star. Knitted Icons: 25 Celebrity Doll Patterns(R139,95, Kalahari.net) teaches you how to whip up some of Hollywood’s most iconic celebs, including Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and King Kong. Once you’re feeling confident, why not experiment and see if you can create a knitted R-Pattz or Justin Bieber? To start, pick up some needles and a bunch of wool at your nearest craft store and ask your mom or grandma to show you the ropes. Or head to YouTube and search “knitting tutorial” – there are countless videos to teach you how to knit pretty much anything!

HAVE A BAKE-OFF

Sweet treats taste even sweeter when they’ve been baked with love. Plus, you’ll be everyone’s favourite person when you rock up at school with yummy snacks for break time! Chocolate brownies always go down a treat. Try this recipe from The Australian Women’s Weekly Macaroons & Biscuitscookbook (R79,95, Kalahari.net).

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE SLICE:

Ingredients:

125 g butter, chopped

½ cup caster (superfine) sugar

2 eggs

1¼ cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted

185 g dark eating chocolate, chopped

155 g white eating chocolate, chopped

50 g milk eating chocolate, chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Grease a deep 20-cm cake pan and line the base with baking paper, extending the paper 5 cm over sides.

Combine butter and dark chocolate in a medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth. Cool for 10 minutes.

So much of the fashion right now is inspired by trends from bygone eras. Bold brights? So ‘80s! Maxi skirts? So ‘60s! So what are you waiting for? Head down to your nearest second-hand store for stuff at a fraction of the cost!

If you need some advice, check out the blog of Nicole Warner, the mastermind behind the Australian online store Gary Pepper Vintage. She shares her top 4 tips.

Jump on Google and search for second-hand shops or markets in your area. Remember to check your local churches too, as they often have little second-hand shops hiding at the back.

Go vintage shopping with an idea of what you’re after. This will make it easier to sort through all the rails.

Take your time and check for any marks, tears or pulls before you buy. Vintage sizes aren’t the same as modern-day sizes, so ignore the number on the label and try everything on.

Get creative! If you see a beautiful dress but the top is too big, cut it off, add elastic and turn it into an on-trend maxi skirt. You can always alter things to make them 10 times better!

GET SNAPPY

The excitement as you wait for it to develop, the cute white border, the ever-so-flattering way it makes your skin look like it’s glowing – there are plenty of reasons to pick up a Polaroid camera. They’re super easy to use – just point, and shoot! Show off your happy snaps by putting them on an inspiration board on your bedroom wall. So pretty!

BINGO

Yes, your grandparents’ Tuesday night ritual is the latest fad among New York and London’s hip set! Ignore your friends’ protests when you pull out a bingo set at your next party or sleepover – it’s back in a big way. Don’t have a set? You can buy one for R129,90 at Reggies or Toys R Us.

HOW TO PLAY:

Choose one person to be the number caller (take turns to keep it fair). This person will draw out numbers from the barrel and read them out to the others.

Each player has a paper grid with 24 numbers on it, plus a handful of markers to put over the numbers as they’re called out.

The first person to mark off five numbers in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row is the winner!

PACK A PICNIC

Whether it’s a romantic date with your guy or a fun day with the girls, a picnic is an awesome way to spend an afternoon. Head to a pretty spot with a rug and a basket full of your favourite foods, lie on the ground and imagine shapes in the clouds, just like when you were a little kid. Could there be a better way to chill after a hectic week? PICNIC CHECKLIST: Snacks and drinks, MP3 player with mini speakers for tunes, magazines and awesome company!